Read below for JimsDaily of 5/10/2018 – “Digital clocks, cameras, and digital news. Oh my!”

While sitting on my porch having breakfast – digitally captured this bunny having breakfast too

The total purpose of this little story is to get you to think about and to love the digital age we are in.

My Dad dated my Mom in a Model T Ford in the 1920’s.  I doubt if it used any digital computers. – Oh my – What is a computer?  My car use digital computers, to tell me where to turn, how much gas I have left, how much air is in my tires, how fast I am going, what the speed limit is,  – some times when I do not listen to it, I swear it swears at me!

My Grandkids probably do not even know what a Model T is – but they sure know a lot of digital things.  I get digital photos from them every day – they send me digital video stories that their phone recorded. They send all those digitals along to my phone – One Thousand Five Hundred miles away – those digits come  through snow storms, tornadoes, down pours, and then into the scorching heat of Florida – Magic. 

The Model T would have taken weeks to get to me in Florida.

Are you thinking yet.  Hey, I am sitting in a Doctors waiting room  – There are 10 people in the waiting room – eight of them are playing around with digital devices,watching movies. reading mail, typing stories, sending photos, reading about President Trump talking of Iran – The news guy is talking half a world away but he is sitting right here on my knee in this doctor’s waiting room – That is the Virtual Reality that we just take for granted.

Think about it. The news man is right here for me, he is in the kitchen for my daughter a 1000 miles away, he is on the radio talking to my son as he drives to work.  When he gets to work he will send to his students digital x-rays to help them learn to handle medical emergencies. We take all this digital magic for granted.

A young quarterback will put on Virtual Reality glasses and be the quarterback in a thousand plays – learning to make the snap decisions that build a winning team – Without the digits, a quarterback in training, would need 10 seasons of experience to get that good.

How about the virtual experience a Wal-Mart manager in training can have – learning how to manage  during the Christmas rush – labor problems, shipping problems, irate customers, employees that do a no-show, or an employees found sitting in a corner smoking pot, or an employee found with his hand in the till, or a customer threatening an employee with physical harm. All of this and more could happen in one twenty-four hour period. A Wal-Mart manager must deal with all of this.  It would take many Christmas rush seasons to give this young manager the experience needed to deal with it.  But, with Virtual Reality training, a twenty year old kid could get that experience in a week or two – The digital world – we gotta love it.

Oh my – are you thinking yet?

As an old retired person, today, I get to use the digital devices to be watching movies, reading mail, typing stories, sending photos, reading about President Trump talking of Iran – Oh my, what I really like to do is study how to make fake digital pictures and paintings that move even. Here is some scraps from my digital art easel:

“The Most Wonderful Memories of Mine”  SOUNDS LIKE A SONG?  I have millions of memories  – Problem is, at my age I can not remember most of them, but you know, the joy of watching barn cats is returned so vivid in my mind every time I see a stray cat out and about in our “Great Outdoor’s” community.  Barn cats were my constant pets – fun to pet and relaxing to watch their graceful movement!

Our Nature Center hosts a beautiful Facebook page – We recently have had two “gross” images of Gators doing what we do three to ten times per day -” EAT”

It is gross to see the demise of a fawn or a large fish – that is nature.   BUT,  there is another side to nature – It is grace in movement.

Did you know, cats sacrifice efficiency for smooth moves?  I found this information on the internet. – Interesting to read.

Cats evolved to move differently than the other mammals we most commonly observe, namely humans and dogs.

Animals that need to travel long distances to find safety and food move in energy-saving ways.  Humans and dogs, for example, use gravity to their advantage when they walk and run. “Our centers of mass rise and fall when we walk.”

The movement of our furry feline friends is different. Cats slink close to the ground. They walk in a way that the movements of their front and back ends cancel each other out — not the way to use gravity to one’s advantage.

“The total movement of their bodies is even, and they flow along,”

This flowing movement has to do with putting food on the table. “Cats need to creep up on their prey,” “Most scientists think that energetic efficiency is the currency of natural selection. But here we’ve shown that cats make compromises when it comes to choosing between saving energy and getting food.”

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Now, this is a video I put together from an iPhone snapshot I took at the corner of Plantation and Oak Cove the other day. Look at the smooth moves of this non-furry friend of ours. Yes, sometimes we think of these guys as gross – but, now look at the beauty of the graceful moves – particularly look at the feet movement in the last frames.

 

That is my story and I am sticking to it. Oh my, I will slink on out of here. Bye for now.

 

 

Your surroundings make you happy or sad I have been told.

I say, the way you look at your surroundings is what makes you happy or sad. Quit that crying – Now!  Oh my – sounds like a parent.  Ask Heather and Jim!!!   I would add in no uncertain terms ” Be happy!”  Then, I would laugh – try to put a twinkle in my eye – and tell them I understood the severity of their problem – sometimes that would actually make them laugh.

 

 

What is that Brubaker nut talking about – He is talking about “Pareidolia” – “The tendency to see things in random dots”  

Some people – like me – just can’t stare at the sky without imagining a fluffy bunny floating by or look at a piece of wood or a rock without thinking they see a face grinning out at them.  Everywhere I look I see things that are not there – In tree stumps, clouds, rocks, gardens, paintings – everywhere!!

Everywhere except one place – yesterdays posting.  Cheryl texted  me yesterday and said – “I found the fox you hid in the bear & and the face you hid there too” The funny thing is I did not put them there – but after re-looking this morning I see, they are there! In fact, that is all I see:

If you feel like reading, here is a little more on “Pareidolia”:

Pareidolia is normal according to Dr. Kang Lee, a neuroscientist at the University of Toronto. Lee published a study last year that found the human brain is essentially hard-wired to recognize shapes in objects.   “It happens in auditory domains as well,” Lee said. “You might feel your cell phone vibrating when it’s not.”  

You are more likely to see or hear them when you are in a good mood.  Women are also more likely to see faces or feel the phone than men.

Pareidolia helps us to be super alert … and thus has had evolutionarily advantageous,”

In Sagan’s 1995 book, “The Demon-Haunted World” he argued that the ability to recognize faces from a distance or in poor visibility was an important survival technique. This instinct enables humans to  be aware that an oncoming object may just happen to be a person and focus to see if it is a friend or foe or just the friendly random dots in the outline of a tree trunk. 

Leonardo da Vinci wrote about Pareidolia as a tool for artists. “If you look at any wall spotted with various stains or with a mixture  of stones, you can see a scene that you will be able to put into a painting. As you paint, your painting its self evolves – You better see landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills.”  

Did Georgia O’Keefe hide objects in the flowers?  Observers often view  objects in Georgia O’Keeffe’s flower paintings – do you see them?

Oh my! – Hope I am not a nut. Well if I am – it is a lot of fun looking for things that are not.

I enjoy the iPad – It is a computerized toy kit that travels with me and — like my Mom used to bring little toy cars to church for us kids to play with and be quiet – well nearly 80 years later my iPad is my toy to keep me quiet while waiting, for example, in a doctors waiting room or a furniture store.

This afternoon I was sitting on my back porch enjoying the storm outside – as a backdrop to a relaxing afternoon – and here is the art my toy – I mean iPad created – I was quiet the whole time!

 Click here to see two eagles fight over a fish – Happened just off my back porch!

 

Click here to see s brief movie titled.  “You are a unique rabbit Mr. squirrel . – “Did you have Plastic Surgery?”

Speaking of Plastic Surgery – Is that what you think?

It was not plastic surgery & and I did not get hit by an angry wife.  Some would say I would be more handsome with plastic surgery. Then, there are those that say  I certainly should be hit by my wife.

But, here is what really happened:  I had a four-hour Mohs Operation on my nose for cancer removal. The Doctor came into the operating room to cut away cancer three times.  After each cut, he took the cuttings to the lab to be sure the edges had no cancer on them.  If the edges were clear that meant he got all the cancer.  After three tries they were all clear and only then did he stitch me up.

Each Lab session took about 45 minutes.

Now, the big question – Can a wait like that be fun. “Sure can.”  I had a great afternoon – really.  Each 45 minute wait seemed like only moments, because  I took my trusty iPad, found a sunset photo,  used it as a model, and created a painting using “Mobil PhotoShop”

I enjoyed the waits so much, I did not want to be disturbed – I was busy – but, the nurse would not allow me to make the Doctor wait.

Post Script on Mohs from the web site “skincancer.org”: 

Mohs micrographic surgery is considered the most effective technique for treating many basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), the two most common types of skin cancer. The procedure is done in stages, including lab work, while the patient waits. This allows the removal of all cancerous cells for the highest cure rate while sparing healthy tissue and leaving the smallest possible scar.

It began as a technique called chemosurgery, developed by Frederic E. Mohs, MD, in the late 1930s, but was not widely known. In the mid 1960s, Perry Robins, MD, became the first dermatologist to study the technique with Dr. Mohs, and he helped advance the procedure into what is now called Mohs micrographic surgery.

Mohs surgery is performed by doctors who are specially trained to fulfill three roles:

1. as the surgeon who removes the cancerous tissue
2. as the pathologist who analyzes the lab specimens
3. as the surgeon who closes or reconstructs the wound

My doctor seems to be well-trained in all three – I have used Mohs at least four times before.  I spent too much time chasing cows, riding horses, driving tractors, riding bike, paddling canoe , and more.   Much on my ranch in the hot Texas sun.   All,  stupidly,  without a thought for sun screen or other protection.

 

April 14,2018 Update:  Photos from my daily ramblings with iPhone in my pocket – well in my hand when I want to take a photo:

 

April 12, 2018 – Oh my, – Will you think of the wonderful things that are out there to see, then go see them?

I think I have 10,000 digital images stored in the iclouds of the Apple computer.  How did they get there you ask? 

Good question – Do you have a cell phone? – Do you carry the cell phone most of the time? Would you enjoy spending most of your waking hours outside the house? Is your eye trained to notice tid-bits of tell-tell signs of nature’s creatures and plants while walking/biking/horse-back riding/golfing/canoeing?

I try to answer “Yes” to each question – that way I get to see lot of wonderful facts of nature – and with the cell phone camera – That is how I have thousands of outdoor photos to enjoy over and over – and of course, at times like this, I can share them with you.

Here are just a few:

(Do not forget if you have photos that you would like to share – just send them to me at jimbrubaker@earthlink.net – I will get them posted somewhere in this web-site.)

I love Mushrooms/Toadstools – “To look at them, I mean”  – They come in all colors and sizes and shapes!

 

Oh my – Almost time for me to head outdoors on my bike – Catch you next time.

 

web-site

 

 

April 7, 2018 – Photo Page

has been updated!

April 6, 2018 – Front Page

“Look What I Found”

I have taken on a new project with the TGO Photo Club: “Encouraging you to share your summer (Spring, Winter, Fall too) experiences through this web site.”

Telling your summer story is easy. The iphone camera is with us most of  the time – use it, then send your photos to      jimbrubaker@earthlink.net  

If you have no photos but want to tell a story – send that to me. If you only have photos and no story, send them to me.  This web-site will evolve – I will find a place to post what you want to share.

After you have read this Front Page, click on the Photo Page to the left.

Here is one of my stories for the Spring of 2018. I call it  “Look what I found.”

I wondered what this was all about, so, I went to the internet and Googled “Hidden small painted stones.”  This news article popped up:

“Kids ditch technology to join global painted rock hide and seek craze”

ABC – South West WA By Michael Black – Updated Sun 11 Mar 2018, 9:14pm

“A new global craze has kids all over the world getting outdoors to play hide and seek with hand-painted rocks.

It has been praised as a cheap and easy way to get kids away from technology and outside.

The hidden rocks are typically small, flat garden stones with a simple picture or a nice message painted on either side.

The rocks are hidden in parks, with photos posted on a Facebook page so other parents can take their children to find the rocks, then re-hide them somewhere else.

The trend started in America and has spread to many different countries, including Australia.”

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So a hunting we did go and found more rocks in TGO:

Maybe you found some painted rocks that you would like to share on this web-site.

Send me photos

Bye for now!

FRONT PAGE:

  People always seem to be looking for ways to better their mood. Nature offers a simple solution to improving one’s emotional health: “FLOWERS”

“Being in the presence of flowers triggers happy emotion.”

In a study done by a team of researchers at Rutgers University, it was proven that flowers have a positive effect on people’s moods.

Flowers have a long-term positive effect also. The study showed that the presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.

So, yesterday I went out on a two-hour walk in Nature around our community, The Great Outdoors, with only my iPhone camera in hand, and searched for Natures happy emotion.

At the end of the two hours, I really felt great.  I enjoyed each encounter with flowers in the wild. I will do it again, and I encourage you to give it a try.

I present here, for your enjoyment, 19 of my finds.

Again, a very Happy Easter to you.  May you think of scheduling a little time each day to study a flower.

I will catch you later, when I think of another topic to post on this website.

Oh, by the way – if you have any photos you would like to share with other readers, just send them to me (of course they must be suitable for family viewing) and I will work them into my postings.